We returned from jamacia on the 7th may having spent 2n weeks at riu ocho rios. We upgraded to preimuim class on the flight on thompson fly , really glad we did this as it made a difference. The hotel is very nice, very big however i think it is a bit to big so they have to cater for alot of people i dont think i would want to be there when they are nearly fall. We have stayed in ariu palace and the service is amazing with them, but riu ocho is big so they couldnt weight on ur hand and foot with all those people.The beach is lovley along with the food.
We did a few trips including the dunns river falls on the catermeran it is a must, bob marley very good but its a long way for a short time there. We also did the evening sunset cruise which is was beautiful. We went into ocho rios on the shuttle and let me say we only went once, not alot to see once you been in one shop you been in them all , selling the same old stuff. we went in to the craft maket and got really hassled.
The nighttime shows were ok , some were pretty crap but some were ok. There isnt really anyway to go at night time as you tend to stay in the resort but that was ok. You do get offered joints and weed quite abit but simply say no and there fun. we watched a few good regge bands at the hotel that were good.If you walk along to the end of the beach there is a bar its not part of the hotel and they had a regge band there which was good.
We eat in the chince, steak house and sir jon which were all very nice aswell as st ann buffet.
We had a really good time.
One word of warning - we borght a phone card to call home for 20 usd and we was leaving to come home i was giving a bill. totally shocked with this bill which for 20 usd was told it was charges for the calling card as they charge you to connect you
. What a cheek and i wasnt even told.
Any questions feel free to message me

Just returned from 2 weeks at this hotel. We are in our mid 20's and have previously stayed at 2 other riu hotels.

Good points:

Location - right on the beach
Weather - was superb!
Rooms - we had a standard room which was always cleaned daily by the maids and the mini bar was always stocked
Swimming pools - 2 pools (one quite, one not so quiet), so always plenty of sunbeds and shade
Entertainment staff - they worked sooo hard. Particular thanks to Delroy for making us feel welcome
Chinese restaurant - in our opinion the best of the speciality restaurants

Not so good points:

Food - was above average, but not as good as I've experienced at other riu hotels. The jamaican food was lovely.
Steakhouse - service was really poor. Food ok.

WOW! I just realized how long this review is.....Sorry, but I hope it gives you lots of info.

We were 16 hours delayed arriving at 3:30AM, and I just wanted to get into bed. RIU had staff waiting for us with our keys, brochures, etc, and was less that 5 minutes getting into our room. Very well organized.

The hotel itself is extremely beautiful, and the staff is constantly cleaning and polishing. They take a lot of pride in the hotel that is for sure. We met our housekeeper on the first day, introduced ourselves, tipped her for the week and explained what our needs would be, which are actually quite simple. I only wanted fresh face clothes everyday. The towels I would reuse a couple of times. That seemed to do the trick, and hopefully made her job a little easier, and give her extra time with the patrons who require much more attention.

The food was excellent. The jerk hut was my favorite. Salads become a little boring by the end of the week, but there was always a great selection for any tastes. I find it hard to believe people could not find a decent meal. We tried 1 a la carte (Sir John), which was good. It was much more private which is a nice change from the hustle of the buffets. We did upgrade to a Jr. Suite, but unless you get a really good deal like we did ($60 for the week), it's really not worth it. The walk to the main restaurant is long, and for that matter, there was only the Japanese restaurant and Mamee Bay which you need reservations for anyway. The roms was beautiful, but so were the standard rooms and they were much closer to everything. I did however like the privacy on the suite side. No noise from the pool or restaurants is really appreciated at night when you are trying to sleep. I think maybe the bars keep a supply of watered down booze because my drinks were so stong I could barely drink them.

The pools were beautiful. And what pool doesn't have crub on them at the end of the day? There aer hundreds of people in and out all day, of course they get dirty. But unless you have on a snorkel and mask like a previous post, you will not notice it, and you certainly can't feel it under your toes.

The beach is also beautiful. You don't have to go far for snorkelling. There are some small reefs just in front of the resort. It was great fun. They have the beach all cleaned up by 8:30AM. On our last day, it was quite windy and sea sludge was drifting up on shore by the waves. Again, nothing the resort can do about that.

The vendors are much more agressinve in Ocho Rios than in Montego Bay. Then again, they can single you out when they see you with a Suite bracelet on, and assume you have more money to spend. Most of them accepted a simple no thanks. You must take a trip all the way down the far side of the beach and introduce yoruself to JR. He is such a sweet gentle old man, with some incredible stories. He makes some beautiful crafts, and will ask you to pay what you think it's worth. He is not there to haggle with you and gets to keep his money, not give it back to the shop-owners like the others down the beach. Please tell him Janet and Bonnie say hi.

Excursions - Dunn's River Falls - We did Cool Runnings, but it's $75 and we are not big partiers, so for us it was not worth it. I would have rather taken a taxi, and brought a few Red Stripe for the drive, then it will only cost you around $25. Watch out for the giant tree spiders!!!!

Bob Marley (Nine Mile) - we hired a private driver for $20 and I swear it was the highlight of my vacation. The land in Jamaica is so incredibly beautiful, and you wil get a true taste of the Jamaican people. They are not all trying to hustle you like on the beach or the shops. I fell in love with everyone I met. Including the dude trying to sell me the Sharpie sized joint before enterring the Marley Compound. They are really quite comical and accepted the "N thanks, I don't party", then laughed right back at me.

Zip Line - spectacular. It's a bit fast paced, so you have no time for pics. I did not do this trip, my husband did and he said there were children on the lines about 13 years old.

Dolphin Cove - a complete rip off, and we won a free entrance. I feel bad for people who spend there money to go there. I live in a tourist area year round, and I know how people get over-charged for things, but you are not allowed to take any pictures at all. I managed to sneak in a few, but I tried to take pictures and was approached on 4 occassions and had to delete pictures. I was told they have their own professional photographers and we had to buy pictures from them, not take our own. Unless of course, I was willing to pay the guys $10 then I could go around and take pictures. We were told admission got us access to snorkel and play with sting rays, which we did, and it was so much fun, but I had to get out after 30 minutes, and again....no pictures. Same with the parrots and the reptiles. I was so angry after an hour, and our tour was supposed to be 4 hours.

Finally, my review is done.

My husband and I stayed at the RIU Ocho Rios for one week April 20th.

We travel a couple of times a year with and without our children all over mexico and the caribbean. It was our first trip to Jamaica , went without our 3 kids but would consider going back sometime with them because we thought it was a great family resort.

Our flight from Toronto was great, no problems at the airport when we landed on a Sunday night - we were actually pleasantly surprised at how organzied everything was, from customs to baggage claim and getting to the bus. The bus ride is long, we didnt get a chance to stop for the red stripe because it was late Sunday night so our tour guide asked the driver to stop and he got off and brought nice cold red stripe to our seats - what a treat!

Arrived at the hotel just before 10pm , checkin a breeze (took about 1 min! ) a nice welcome cocktail and cheked into our nice oceanview room within minutes. We went down to the Italian restaurant for a snack and something to drink (Picola Italia is open daily from noon to midnight) and our bags were at our door when we went back upstairs.

The next mornign we woke to pure heaven, looking at the main pool and ocean. The rooms are spotless, we didn't think there was any mildew smell, mini bar stocked, maid service excellent. We slept with the patio door open (screen door locked) most nights. it was nice to hear the ocean. We enjoyed sitting on our balcony for happy hour everyday , watching the pool activities.
Oh.....it's true the beds ARE ROCK HARD!

Resort staff for the most part were friendly but they do expect tips.

Drinks were good, pretty strong. Coffe is great! I enjoyed making my own latte's in the afternoon, ask the bartender for some Kahlua and Milk with ice, top it off with expresso - it was yummy.

Food was ok. Breakfast was good at St Anne's, jerk chicken hut was great, there is a lineup but moves pretty quick. We always waited in line with a cocktail. We are not picky eaters but were not impressed with the dinner buffet. Seemed to repeat each night with the main course varying a bit. Not enough fresh seafood and there were line up most of the time at dinner. Having said that, we survived and always found something to eat.

The beach was AWESOME, the water so calm, clear and blue and really warm! We never had trouble finding a seat in the sun or shade at any time of day. Never had to reserve a spot. The pools seemed a bit more crowded, we only used the pool on our last day since we checked out of our room at noon and the bus wasn't picking us up until 4pm. I wanted to spend the last couple of hours cooling off in the pool.

The vendors on the beach are a hoot. They will call you over to talk and get you to buy something, if you're not interested a polite no thank you will do. We bought some things on the beach, couple of things from Starfish man ( you can't miss him if you go) and some jewellery from the ladies. They want to show you everything - just say no if you dont' want to look or buy and they wont' bother you.

We did go into town one afternoon ($10 pp return bus ride from the resort) if you don't want to be hassled or barter don't bother going.

Hubby booked a couple of dives with Scuba Caribe on the beach, he said it was ok, not as good as other places we have been though.

We took the paddle boats out a couple of times to feed the fish at the reef.

Highlights of the week were the trips we booked. Dunns River Falls on a Cat with Scuba Caribe......if you are there you MUST go and climb the falls , a 10 min boat ride, you stop and snorkle (so so ) drinks are included ...climbing the falls was lots of fun. Get ready to tip! Everyone....they are not shy to ask.

The other tour we did was the Raggae and Culture. A bus trip to Nine Mile (Bob Marley's birthplace, home and resting place) . You really get to see a side to Jamaica you wont' see staying at the resort. It was a lovely drive through the hills (compliments to our bus driver George) manuvering that bus through the hilltops on windy narrow roads. Bob Marley tour was the best, the Rastafarians are so laid back, they tell you stories, sing songs etc.. A good time.

Overall, the RIU is a wonderful resort if you are a couple or family but they lack in the food department. We missed being able to go for long walks on the beach or go off the resort on our own like we are used to in Mexico or Aruba. For this reason we got kind of bored....so we would go back with a few other couples or with our kids if it was going to be a beach bum vacation. We would actually like to go and try out the new RIU that is opening in Montego Bay.